Talk:List of streetcar lines in Staten Island

Latest comment: 4 years ago by 24.191.101.189 in topic Originally powered by horse, coal, or electricity?

Useful article

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Here's an article that may be useful:

http://eagle.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/Default/Scripting/ArchiveView.asp?BaseHref=BEG/1897/04/02&Page=3&skin=BE --NE2 11:35, 11 January 2007 (UTC)Reply

The updated URL is https://bklyn.newspapers.com/image/50439805 , then navigate to page 3.
"Street Railways of G.N.Y., Fifth Article", The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 2, 1897.
Looks like there are two relevant paragraphs:
"The Staten Island Electric railroad, a trolley line, twenty-five miles in length, runs from South Beach to Holland Hook, where it connects with the Consolidated Traction company of New Jersey. It has a belt line around St. George and a spur up the Richmond turnpike to Silver lake. It also controls half the stock of the Rapid Transit ferry between St. George and New York. Earnings from local traffic from June 1 to September 30, 1896, were, gross, $52,402; net, $23,813.
The Staten Island Midland owns twenty-two miles of track, operated by electricity. No statistics of earnings are obtainable."
Hope this helps a bit. —173.56.25.136 (talk) 07:16, 25 August 2018 (UTC)Reply

Originally powered by horse, coal, or electricity?

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When these Staten Island streetcar lines began operating in the late 1800s, were any powered by horse or coal? Or were they all running on electricity from the start? Great if anyone can add a little more info about those early years. —173.56.25.136 (talk) 07:16, 25 August 2018 (UTC)Reply

The Staten Island Advance reference says 1892 was the first trip, and the Brooklyn Daily Eagle article (above) says 1897 already had an extensive, fully electrified network. So, it seems "likely" that all these streetcar lines were electric from the beginning. Does anyone have a published reference that would confirm this? —173.68.139.31 (talk) 04:02, 7 June 2019 (UTC)Reply
The Advance just posted an interesting slideshow of vintage photos on the topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHizUXbXF5Y . At 0:29, one historical photo confirms the use of electrical streetcars in 1892, so I updated our lead sentence accordingly. —24.191.101.189 (talk) 01:39, 20 July 2020 (UTC)Reply